Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 28 Apr: A Congress woman leader named Anshul Tyagi was injured and briefly lost consciousness as the Uttarakhand Pradesh Mahila Congress staged a vehement protest and attempted to march towards the Assembly during the special session of the state assembly today. The Women Congress is demanding immediate implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Assembly.
The agitation, led by state president Jyoti Rautela along with senior Congress leader and chairman of the party’s election management committee Harak Singh Rawat, witnessed hundreds of women Congress workers taking to the streets in a show of strength. The protesters assembled in the morning in a hotel premises on Haridwar Road in Nehru Colony and later proceeded towards the Assembly in a large and vociferous march, raising slogans such as “Implement women’s reservation now” and “Give full rights to half the population,” which echoed across the area.
However, the march was expectedly halted by heavy police deployment near the Rispana Bridge, where barricades had been erected in view of the ongoing special session. A tense stand-off ensued as protesters attempted to breach the barricading, leading to heated arguments and jostling between the police personnel and the demonstrators. During the scuffle, district president of the Mahila Congress, Anshul Tyagi, fell unconscious amid the chaos. The police immediately arranged for an ambulance and she was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
The situation remained volatile for some time as the protesters continued to raise slogans and press forward, resulting in further confrontation. As tensions escalated, the police detained several women activists and transported them to the Police Lines, which further intensified the anger among the demonstrators.
Addressing the gathering at the protest site, Harak Singh Rawat extended full support to the agitation and he launched a scathing attack on both the state and the Central governments. He alleged that incidents of crimes against women in Uttarakhand have been on the rise and accused the government of maintaining a conspicuous silence on such issues. He further criticised the ruling dispensation, terming it anti-women and claimed that despite the unanimous passage of the women’s reservation legislation in 2023, the Centre has delayed its implementation under the pretext of delimitation and census, thereby misleading women across the country.
Rawat also questioned the rationale behind convening a special session of the Assembly. He asserted that the legislative authority on reservation in Parliament and state legislatures lies with the Centre, and accused the state government of indulging in mere political theatrics.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, State Women Congress President Jyoti Rautela directly targeted the government over the delay in implementing the reservation law. She stated that despite the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act in 2023, the failure to operationalise 33 per cent reservation raises serious questions about the intent of the government. She alleged that women’s rights are being continuously deferred in the name of census and delimitation, which the Mahila Congress would not accept under any circumstances. She asserted that the movement would continue until women are granted their due rights, adding that women across the state and the country are now fully aware and prepared to fight for their entitlements at every level.
Several senior leaders and party functionaries, including Jaya Karnataka, Pushpa Pawar, Asha Rawat, Sushila Sharma, Anju Mishra, Shashi Shah, Anita Saklani and Shobha Badoni were also present at the protest along with a large number of Mahila Congress workers and Youth Congress members such as Lalit Bhadri, Bablu Panwar, Shahid Jamal, Alok Mehta, Naresh Saklani, Bantu, Gaurav Rawat, Nitin Uniyal, Anuj, Anurag Kanswal, Abhimanyu, Sahil Sheikh, Priyanshu Gaur and Suraj. The substantial participation lent significant momentum to the agitation.
The Mahila Congress, also issued a clear warning that, if the demand for immediate implementation of women’s reservation is not met at the earliest, the movement would be intensified and expanded further across the state.
